United States
                         Environmental
                         Protection Agency
                         Washington, D.C. 20460
                            Solid Waste
                            and Emergency
                            Response(5105)
                        EPA 500-F-00-225
                        October 2000
                        www.epa.gov/brownfields/
  oEPA       Brownfields   Showcase
                        Community
                        Des  Moines,  IA
 Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)
                                                Quick Reference Fact Sheet
 Brownfields are abandoned, idled or underused industrial and commercial properties where expansion or redevelopment is
 complicated by real or perceived contamination. In May 1997, Vice President Gore announced a Brownfields National Partnership
 to bring together the resources of more than 15 federal agencies to address local cleanup and reuse issues in a more coordinated
 manner. In 1998, this multi-agency partnership designated 16 "Brownfields Showcase Communities"—models demonstrating
 the benefits of collaborative activity on bmwnfields. In October 2000, the partnership selected 12 additional "Brownfields
 Showcase Communities" to continue the success of the initiative.  The Brownfields Showcase Communities are distributed
 across the country and vary by size, resources, and community type. A wide range of support will be leveraged, depending on
 the particular needs of each Showcase Community.
BACKGROUND

The Brownfields National Partnership has selected
Des Moines, Iowa, as a Brownfields Showcase
Community. The city identified about 250
brownfields sites throughout Des Moines, located
primarily in the following targeted redevelopment
areas: the 1,200-acre Agribusiness Park, the 300-acre
Riverpoint West area, and the city's federally desig-
nated Enterprise Community. All three  of the
targeted areas have higher concentrations of minori-
ties and families living below the poverty level than
the rest of the city. The highest rates are in the
Enterprise Commu-
nity:  29.7 percent
minority population,
compared with the
city average of 10.8
percent, and 32.9
percent poverty rate,
compared with the
city's rate of 9.5
percent. Redevelop-
ment of the three
targeted revitalization
areas will create
approximately 8,000 new jobs and add approxi-
mately $400 million to the city's tax base.
Community Profile
CURRENT ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS

In the Agribusiness Park, which contains salvage
yards, an agricultural chemical manufacturer, and
other industrial facilities, the city has conducted Phase
I site assessments on 94 properties and found that 61
do not require further cleanup. The city completed
Phase II assessments on 12 of the remaining 33
properties, and no soil or groundwater contamination
was found that required cleanup.  Phase I site assess-
ments were also conducted in the Riverpoint West
area, former home to foundries, rail yards, and an
industrial chemical manufacturing facility.  Fifty-eight
                       properties were assessed
                       and 19 were found to not
                       require cleanup. The other
                       39 properties, comprising
                       175 acres, require further
                       investigation, and the city
                       is in the process of
                       preparing for Phase II
                       assessments.
    Des Moines, Iowa
The City of Des Moines has put together
an impressive coalition of public and
private entities focusing its brownfields
redevelopment efforts on creating
residential, commercial, industrial and
recreational developments in the
Agribusiness Park and Riverpoint West
projects. The city is developing an area-
wide redevelopment strategy to
assemble private property and has made
significant progress in identifying the
extent of contamination in these areas.
                       The City of Des Moines
                       has a number of
                       brownfields redevelop-
ment projects underway in partnerships with EPA, the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Department

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of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development, and many others. One
leading example of these partnerships is the Federal
Home Financing Board's $2 million equity commit-
ment for the Riverpoint West project, a break-
through step for the Federal Home Loan Bank
System. In addition, the community has invested
nearly $200 million in local funds for brownfields
redevelopment in the downtown, northeast Des
Moines, the Agribusiness Park, and the federal
Enterprise Community.

EPA has awarded Des Moines a Brownfields
Assessment Demonstration Pilot for the
Agribusiness Park, a Supplemental Assessment
Demonstration Pilot for the Riverpoint West project,
and a Brownfields Cleanup Revolving  Loan Fund
Pilot for brownfields redevelopment in the city.

Additionally, strong community involvement from
citizen, environmental, and civic and governmental
groups in the Des Moines brownfields  redevelop-
ment project has helped revitalize the targeted areas.
These include, but are not limited to Des Moines
Neighbors (a coalition of 49 neighborhood associa-
tions), the Enterprise Community Steering Commit-
tee, the Good Neighbor Task Force, the City of Des
Moines, Polk County, and the State of  Iowa.
Several business, lending, educational, and local
labor organizations are also involved.  The city also
solicits community input in drafting urban renewal
plans and identifying redevelopment opportunities,
and uses public forums to help keep the public well
informed of the nature and extent of contamination at
the sites targeted for redevelopment.

SHOWCASE  COMMUNITY OBJECTIVES AND
PLANNED ACTIVITIES

As a Showcase Community, Des Moines'
brownfields revitalization plans focus on residential,
commercial, industrial, and recreational redevelop-
ment in three targeted areas: the Agribusiness Park,
Riverpoint West, and the federal Enterprise Commu-
nity area. Through partnerships with many federal,
state, and local government and private sector
entities, Des Moines is creating a model for other
urban centers in America's heartland.  The
Agribusiness Park will attract new value-added
agricultural enterprises and create about 7,000 jobs.
The reuse plan will also encourage the use of more
environmentally conscious development approaches.
The Riverpoint West will be developed into a mixed-
use urban village with 1,000 townhouses, 850,000
square  feet of office  space, and environmental and
recreational improvements are expected to create
approximately  8,000 jobs. The urban design of the
development will encourage people to walk to work.
In the Enterprise Community, about 20 brownfields
site will be redeveloped for residential and commer-
cial use.
                          Contacts

                          Office of Economic Development
                          City of Des Moines
                          (515)237-1351
    U.S. EPA-Region 7
    (913)551-7786
                               For more information on the Brownfields Showcase
                               Communities, visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at:
                                http://www.epa.gov/swerosps/bf/showcase.htm
Brownfields Showcase Communities
October 2000
                                 Des Moines, Iowa
                                EPA 500-F-00-225

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